“Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)
This is one of the few scriptures written for senior citizens. There is another one in Psalms that refers to the average human life span as a “handbreath”, which is an ancient Hebrew measurement of about 3 inches. Not only is it referred to in brief inches, but it says that every human life is like a fleeting breath to God. We may differentiate between long lives, short lives, and babies who are just beginning to live their lives, but to God, all physical life is a fleeting breath, since each real life is the soul who will live forever.
Last weekend, I celebrated a very old life and a very young life, two days in a row. I sang Happy birthday to a 92 year old friend on one day and the next day, I sang it to my 1 year old great, great niece. The paper plates and napkins at the one year old’s party, cleverly read, “First trip around the sun.”
Whether we’ve had one trip around the sun or ninety two, every day of life is a gift from God. The average life span in the US went up last year, and is now 79, but since some people still live to their nineties, it’s good to learn what researchers found about those who are living longer.
Time magazine once published an article about a research study, concluding that those who regularly attend any type of religious service have decreased stress and live longer than average life spans.
The reason for this wasn’t the effect of prayer alone, but prayer plus the regular support of a faith community.
The value of congregating with like minded people of faith, is what a Harvard professor of epidemiology, found in doing this study. Having a network of social support as well as a deep sense of purpose in life, accounted for longevity benefits among those he studied. Scripture suggested this 2,000 years ago, encouraging believers to live as one unified supportive community of faith, so Christianity actually taught this long before Harvard discovered it.
Jesus left us the Holy Spirit after He ascended to heaven. The book of Acts described the lifestyle that believers in the early Spirit filled church were living. They were described as devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to regular fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
Their church life was a community of mutual support, and they all had a deep purpose in living for Jesus, believing He was returning again one day.
Living a long life as we know it, is still a mere fleeting breath to God. Senior living has to be about more than healthy eating, exercise, efforts in looking younger and saving money. God told us through Isaiah, that even in our old age, when our hair is gray, He will sustain us. His sustenance extends beyond finding the right wrinkle creams, nutritional tips or hair dyes.
As we age, although we may encounter increased health, financial, or relationship problems in our senior years, we have been given a beautiful promise that God will sustain us, rescue us and carry us throughout those years. He does it as we depend solely on Him as our source, and plug ourselves into a community of like minded believers, where we share spiritual and emotional support. This is what benefits our recoveries from illness and alleviates stress.
God is good, and living life with the knowledge of His goodness, we find that He does rescue us from our afflictions and carry us when we need to be carried. Refocusing our values on a life being well lived, instead of dwelling on our losses, keeps us making those trips around the sun year after year.
I can still remember sitting on my own grandmother’s lap as a child, and though I saw the wrinkles on her face and her coarse, gray hair, what I looked for most was her smile, her joyful laugh and the sparkle in her eyes that made me feel like I was a delight in her life. The way that grandchildren, great nieces or great nephews see us is one more gift of God’s sustenance through our gray haired years.
Lord, thank you for sustaining, rescuing and carrying us through the many phases of aging, and help us to stay strong in a community of faith and Christ centered purpose during all our trips around the sun. Amen
